E/2010/27 E/CN.6/2010/11 “Acknowledging that failure to prevent maternal mortality and morbidity is one of the most significant barriers to the empowerment of women and girls in all aspects of life, the full enjoyment of their human rights, and their ability to reach their full potential, “Reaffirming its commitment to the equal participation of women and men in public and political life as a key element in women’s and men’s equal participation in eliminating preventable maternal mortality and morbidity, “Reaffirming its strong commitment to the full implementation of the Cairo Programme of Action adopted at the International Conference on Population and Development in 1994, as well as the key actions for the further implementation of the Programme of Action agreed at the twenty-first special session of the General Assembly and the Copenhagen Declaration on Social Development and the Programme of Action; emphasizing that gender equality cannot be achieved without promoting and protecting the right of women to enjoy the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, including sexual and reproductive health, and reaffirming that expanding access to sexual and reproductive health information and health services is essential for achieving the Beijing Platform for Action, the Cairo Programme of Action and the Millennium Development Goals, “Recognizing the need for greater coordination, global cooperation and commitment to achieving universal access to health services for women and girls through a primary health-care approach and evidence-based interventions and to reducing maternal mortality and morbidity, including through the provision of sexual and reproductive health-care services as agreed to in the Beijing Platform for Action, “Recognizing also that the unacceptably high global rates of preventable maternal mortality and morbidity are directly related to the presence of persistent gender inequalities, including gender-based violence, harmful traditional practices such as early and forced marriage or early common law unions, female genital mutilation, lack of education, poverty, lack of economic opportunity, lack of participation in decision-making, multiple forms of discrimination and inequitable access to adequate health services and facilities, “Recognizing that early pregnancy and early childbearing present a much higher risk of complications during pregnancy and delivery as well as maternal mortality and morbidity and that complications from pregnancy and childbirth are among the leading causes of death for women between the ages of 15 and 19 in developing countries, “Underlining the need to address women’s health through comprehensive strategies targeting root causes of gender inequality in health care, including unequal and limited access to health services, and stressing the importance of strengthening health systems to better respond to women’s health needs in terms of access, comprehensiveness and quality, “1. Expresses deep concern regarding the persistent and unacceptably high global rate of maternal mortality and morbidity, and urges the global community to strongly commit itself at all levels to the elimination of preventable maternal mortality and morbidity; 78 10-30576